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I thought this looked like the machine my friends used but when shorthand was mentioned I had to search. The stenotype machine has many more keys than the Braille seven: six for the dot pattern and one to advance character.

There are many levels of blindness. Some cannot see anything including light. Then some can see some light or objects, but can not bee optically corrected. Then there is legally blind, that is vision of 20/200. This can often be optically corrected to a point. I come under the next lrval, vision impaired. My vision can be corrected to the point that I am able to drve. However, I failed my preinduction physical in 1967. Under the ADA, I too am classified as blind. I hope that makes it clearer.

Clearly this elderly woman, while legally blind (defined by vision below a certain acuity) is not sightless. Many blind people can see light, dark, color, and shapes. It isn't just a "somebody turned out all the lights" condition. What I wonder is what is the output format of what she is typing. That sort of looks like a Braille writer. It certainly isn't a traditional typewriter. Or is she typing shorthand?

I believe there is a partial blindness that declares one "legally blind", even though one may have partial vision. I have a friend who is blind in one eye only but can see somewhat out of her other eye, so she is classified as "legally blind" and is not allowed to drive, but she does read and watch TV.

Shorpy.com | History in HD is a vintage photo blog featuring thousands of high-definition images from the 1850s to 1950s. The site is named after Shorpy Higginbotham, a teenage coal miner who lived 100 years ago.